With a motley crew of players turning up (bearing little relationship to the original group that had committed themselves to playing), we put out two teams, as usual the Many Shades of Yellow and Grey for this event at Front Lawn. With Many Shades player Colin Jeffery organising the overall event, we were there to play a series of friendlies against Morgan Innovation and Technology, CJ’s “works side”, as well as each other.

With MIT fielding a very mixed age group, and none of them (apart from CJ and Jeff Pickering) having any experience of walking football, the Greys started against the Yellows, so that MIT could get an idea of how the game is played. Due to the ad hoc nature of the squads, the Greys borrowed an older gentleman from MIT, and then thoroughly confused themselves by not having a clue about their formation. This confusion allowed Bobby De Ste Croix to set Rich Bishop up for a textbook finish past the floundering Jeff Pickering in goal. That was enough to seal the victory, as the game went on to settle into an even battle of incompetence all round. Most notable was referee Micky Wallis’ firm command of the rules of the game and his understanding of how many minutes make up ten or twelve.

Next the Yellows played MIT, and it soon became apparent that not running and three-touch football were alien concepts for CJ’s collection of young novices. As a result the Yellows were able to produce a clinical 2-0 win thanks to a brace from Bobby De Ste Croix, the second a delightful and delicate goalkeeper-bewildering flick that rolled into the corner.

Borrowing Jeff again to play in goal, and with Rich Bishop bolstering their numbers, the Greys then played a warmed-up and quite energetic MIT side, who were superbly marshalled by CJ at the back. Unfortunately for the Greys, Jeff had remembered that he still has to pay off his mortgage and feed his family, all of which was dependent upon his employment at MIT. So it came to pass that there was an unfortunate catalogue of goalkeeping errors which led to MIT scoring a soft goal against the run of play. The sweet-passing Greys weren’t dismayed (too much) and continued to dominate the game, and it came as no surprise when Stew Russell coolly finished off a great passing move to equalise. In spite of continued pressure, MIT held on for a hard-earned draw.

The Yellows therefore won a very pretty trophy, which Bobby proudly collected at the photoshoot afterwards. Their squad was: a MIT player and Pete Brown sharing goalkeeping duties, Barry Ingram, Pete Dolamore, Barry Tindall, and George Peters at the back, Rich Bishop in midfield, and Bobby De Ste Croix up front. The Greys lined up with Jeff Pickering in goal, Mick Sidwell at the back, and a midfield made up of Pete Brown, Carlo Macri, Rich Bishop (vs MIT), Stew Russell, and Barrie Gray. They didn’t bother with a front man, preferring instead to play total football.